echoes Posted November 23, 2006 Report Share Posted November 23, 2006 so i bought this new bridge to replace my old one and the posts were bigger than the holes... so i drilled it a bit more and i drilled the hole a little too big, just enough to where the posts are kind of wobbly. so what is the best thing i can do to fix this? all help is appreciated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwedishLuthier Posted November 23, 2006 Report Share Posted November 23, 2006 I am thinking that you used a hand held drill, right? You need a pillar drill for this job. Anyway. Drill new, oversized holes. Glue in hardwood dowels. Drill new holes, right size and right place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
echoes Posted November 24, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2006 hey, thanks for the reply, but i dont have access to a pillar drill :-/ and if i were to drill a bigger hole and then glue in a dowel, youd be able to see it since the paint job is a cherry sunburst. is there anything else i can do? like fill the hole with epoxy and stick the posts in (without the screws in, of course) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwedishLuthier Posted November 24, 2006 Report Share Posted November 24, 2006 The best solution is always to fill and redrill. You don’t have to go that much bigger. It’s just so that you will get a clean and straight hole to glue in a dowel. If that is not possible the second best option is to make a dowel that fit in the existing hole and drill the right size hole again. I must emphasis that a pillar drill is almost mandatory for this type of job. Try to find some place were you can do this. Go to a local cabinet makes shop of whatever and bring a gentle attitude and a six-pack or something. That will almost guaranteed give you access to five minute with a pillar drill. When making your own hardwood dowels it is also nice, but not necessary to have a pillar drill. Do like this. Chuck a reasonably round piece of wood, about two to three inches long in the drill. I usually only rough it out with a knife. Spin the drill and hold a file against the wood until you have a round rod at the right dimension. Having a pillar drill means that you can hold the file in a vise or similar that are mounted to the pillar drill table. Then it is easy to move the wood up and down when the file is held completely still. This way you will get very even dowels. The third alternative is the one you are suggesting, epoxy. I would stay away from that for a couple of reasons - What will happen with epoxy over time? I have not tested it and I don’t know - It will make it almost impossible to remove the bushing in the future. If you strip the threads in the bushings you are toast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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